Incineration system

ABSTRACT

An incinerator having an arrangement of ash removal that permits continuous operation without the necessity of opening the combustion chamber thereof directly to the atmosphere so as to provide an uncontrolled supply of air for combustion thereto. A layer of sand is placed on the bottom of a combustion chamber to cover the ash removal door to a depth that provides a labyrinthtype seal to preclude the flow of air from the atmosphere into the combustion chamber. As combustion within the combustion chamber occurs, ash resulting therefrom accumulates at the top of the sand, and an amount of sand is withdrawn from the bottom of said chamber so that the amount of particulate matter at the bottom thereof remains substantially unchanged.

United States Patent 3,397,657 8/1968 Tada 3,411,465 11/1968 Shirai 110/8 llO/8 ABSTRACT: An incinerator having an arrangement of ash removal that permits continuous operation without the necessity of opening the combustion chamber thereof directly to the atmosphere so as to provide an uncontrolled supply of air for combustion thereto. A layer of sand is placed on the bottom of a combustion chamber to cover the ash removal door to a depth that provides a labyrinth-type seal to preclude the flow of air from the atmosphere into the combustion chamber. As combustion within the combustion chamber occurs, ash resulting therefrom accumulates at the top of the sand, and an amount of sand is withdrawn from the bottom of said chamber so that the amount of particulate matter at the bottom thereof remains substantially unchanged.

rncrnenx'rrou SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.. Field of the Invention This invention relates to an incinerator having a unique ash removal system that effectively permits the removal of ash resulting from the burning of refuse while it continuously maintains a seal defining a separation between the combustion chamber and the surrounding air. By its use the starved air requirements of a modern incineration system may be rigidly maintained and the area of high temperature combustion may be located directly upon a bed of dispensable ash.

2. Description of the Prior Art Although incineration has long been an accepted method of refuse disposal, burning under starved air conditions with a deficiency of oxygen wherein a mass of carbonacious refuse is reduced to ash and a combustible gas which is later burned in a spaced burning zone comprises a relatively recent development in the incineration art. The arrangements which did utilize this type of incineration were of the type known as a batch" type incinerator where the units were charged with refuse and burned to completion before the units were opened for further loading or for ash removal. If the ash removal or loading doors were opened an amount of air would rush through the open doors into the incineration chamber and thus upset the starved air" conditions under which the unit was operating.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON This invention provides an incinerator having an incineration chamber effectively isolated from the ambient atmosphere at all times but which permits addition of fuel or refuse thereto and the removal of ash therefrom without permitting direct contact between the ambient atmosphere and the chamber.

it is therefore the principle objective of this invention to provide a starved air type incinerator which may be operated through continuous loading and ash removal cycles without freedom of access between the atmosphere and the interior of the incineration chamber.

A further objective is to locate the combustion zone upon a bed of ash whereby the location of the combustion zone may be maintained constant by continuously removing some ash as the deposits of same accumulate in the combustion chamber.

A BRlEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING lFlG. l is a schematic cross-sectional view of the device constructed according to this invention; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower part of an incinerator housing including the ash removal arrangement of this invention.

in an incinerator of the starved air type trash or refuse to be burned is placed in an incinerator housing 12 enclosing a primary chamber M having air for combustion supplied through inlet pipes l6 from a conventional source not here illustrated. An exhaust stack 1% is provided at the upper extremity of the housing whereby gases produced in the combustion chamber by the partial combustion of fuel may be exhausted therefrom and subjected to one or more additional stages of combustion whereby substantially all the combustible constituents in the gas are oxidized before the products of combustion are exhausted to the atmosphere.

The outer wall of the incinerator i2 is generally cylindrical in nature and may be disposed on either a vertical or a horizontal axis depending upon the space available for installation. An opening having feeding means cooperating therewith is provided to supply refuse into the incinerator chamber M while as ash removal arrangement 32 is provided at the bottom of the chamber for the removal of ash resulting from the combustion of said refuse. A collection hopper 24 is fitted to the bottom of the incinerator housing 12 to receive the ash resulting from the combustion of refuse within the combustion chamber. The surface of the collection hopper 2 3 as well as the surface of the housing 12 is provided with a coating of insulating material 2% to effectively insulate the high temperatures of combustion within the incinerator from the outer atmosphere.

The access door 3b is provided with a sight" hole 33 covered by a pivoted closure 37 that when properly open will provide an operator with visual access to the interior of the chamber M whereby the depth of ash or other conditions therein may be readily observed.

The feeding means may be adapted to either continuously or intermittently supply refuse to be burned to the upper part of the combustion chamber, it being understood that numerous suitable mechanisms have been developed and are now in service for such application.

Although in existing incinerator arrangements suitable apparatus has been provided for the continuous supply of refuse to the incinerator, little has been done to provide an arrangement whereby ash resulting from the combustion of said refuse may be removed without completely discontinuing all combustion, allowing the incinerator to cool, and then opening the incinerator and removing the ash. Should the ash removal door be opened during operation of the incinerator, a surge of air will flow into the incinerator and combustion of refuse therein will not then be closely regulated in accordance with the principles ofstarved air" combustion.

Therefore, the ash removal means of this invention is devised to remove ash from the combustion chamber without permitting the access of air thereto. Said ash removal means generally comprises a bulk conveyor or other device 32 which is operated either intermittently or continuously as required to remove the ash from the incinerator hopper and deliver it for disposal. inasmuch as continuous and uncontrolled operation of such apparatus may completely remove all ash from the incinerator and thus permit a substantially unencumbered flow of air containing oxygen for combustion through the empty ash removal means into the incinerator housing, a suitable seal in the ash removal means must be provided to preclude the free flow of air from the atmosphere into the incinerator.

Accordingly I place a quantity of sand 35 into the incinerator through the fuel supply port 20 or other opening provided for this purpose. The sand fills the ash removal hopper and covers the bottom of the incinerator to a predetermined depth sufficient to provide an effective labyrinth type seal between the combustion zone 14 in the incinerator and the atmosphere whereby controlled combustion of refuse in the chamber l4 may proceed under conventional starved air principles. As ash from combustion of refuse within the incinerator is produced and continues to build up, some of the sand at the bottom of the hopper is withdrawn so that the level of particulate matter within the hopper remains substantially constant and an effective seal is maintained.

The sand or ash comprising the particulate matter 35 at the bottom of the incinerator provides an effective labyrinth-type seal precluding the normal flow of air between the combustion chamber M, and the ambient atmosphere but it does not significantly reduce the supply of air necessary for combustion. This is true because the air supplied through supply pipes 16 to the chamber i4 is under pressure sufficient to force it out of the openings in the pipes, through the bed of particulate material covering the pipes 16 and into the combustion chamber, while only a relatively slight differential of pressure exists between the gases in chamber 14 and the ambient atmosphere.

The combustion zone in chamber 14 thus is provided with a bottom or floor 27 that comprises the ash of previously burned refuse. As additional ash is deposited on the floor, the ash removal means is actuated to remove ash lying at the bottom of the hopper so that the upper surface thereof may be maintained at a substantially constant level. The frequency of operation of the ash removal means is determined by an operator viewing conditions within the incinerator through the sight? hole 33, although various types of automatically operated ash removal means may be devised within the purview of this invention.

It is to be understood that various modifications in structure as well as changes in the manner of operation, assembly and use may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Hence it will be understood that this disclosure is illustrative only of a preferred means embodying the invention and the invention is to be determined by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An incinerator for the disposition of waste material comprising a casing defining a substantially airtight combustion chamber, means for charging said chamber with waste material to be burned, removal means for removing particulate material from the bottom portion of said combustion chamber, and a layer of noncombustible particulate matter continuously covering the lower part of said incinerator intermediate the combustion chamber and the removal means said particulate matter adapted to provide a labyrinth-type seal intermediate the inside of the incinerator and the ambient atmosphere lying on the opposite side of the removal means.

2. A process for burning organic material in a substantially airtight combustion chamber having a waste loading zone in its upper portion and an ash removal zone in its lower portion, said process comprising the steps of supplying to said combustion chamber a quantity of noncombustible particulate matter that collects at the bottom of said combustion chamber, burning to ash the combustible material inserted into said combustion chamber, and removing a quantity of particulate matter from the bottom of said combustion chamber substantially equivalent to the amount of ash settling on the upper surface thereof resulting from the combustion of waste organic material in the combustion chamber.

3. A process for incinerating a mass of organic material in a substantially airtight combustion chamber having loading means for injecting a quantity of organic material into said chamber and ash removal means at the bottom of said chamber for removing ash therefrom said process including the steps of inserting a quantity of noncombustible particulate material into said chamber to cover the ash removal means and thus isolate the ash removal means from said chamber, injecting a quantity of combustible material into said combustion chamber, reducing the combustible material to ash, and operating the ash removal means at the bottom of said chamber to remove a quantity of particulate matter equivalent to the ash resulting from the burning of the combustible 

1. An incinerator for the disposition of waste material comprising a casing defining a substantially airtight combustion chamber, means for charging said chamber with waste material to be burned, removal means for removing particulate material from the bottom portion of said combustion chamber, and a layer of noncombustible particulate matter continuously covering the lower part of said incinerator intermediate the combustion chamber and the removal means said particulate matter adapted to provide a labyrinth-type seal intermediate the inside of the incinerator and the ambient atmosphere lying on the opposite side of the removal means.
 2. A process for burning organic material in a substantially airtight combustion chamber having a waste loading zone in its upper portion and an ash removal zone in its lower portion, said process comprising the steps of supplying to said combustion chamber a quantity of noncombustible particulate matter that collects at the bottom of said combustion chamber, burning to ash the combustible material inserted into said combustion chamber, and removing a quantity of particulate matter from the bottom of said combustion chamber substantially equivalent to the amount of ash settling on the upper surface thereof resulting from the combustion of waste organic material in the combustion chamber.
 3. A process for incinerating a mass of organic material in a substantially airtight combustion chamber having loading means for injecting a quantity of organic material into said chamber and ash removal means at the bottom of said chamber for removing ash therefrom said process including the steps of inserting a quantity of noncombustible particulate material into said chamber to cover the ash removal means and thus isolate the ash removal means from said chamber, injecting a quantity of combustible material into said combustion chamber, reducing the combustible material to ash, and operating the ash removal means at the bottom of said chamber to remove a quantity of particulate matter equivalent to the ash resulting from the burning of the combustible material in said combustion chamber whereby a layer of particulate matter continuously covers the ash removal means to provide a labrynth-type seal that precludes leakage of air from the atmosphere iNto the combustion chamber.
 4. A process for incinerating organic material as defined in claim 3 wherein the ash removal means is operated intermittently in response to the depth of ash at the bottom of the combustion chamber. 